Picking up the pieces
by EDSidekick
Summary: So we know Cal and Ethan are adopted; we know Ethan has the gene; what if another surprise came out of the woodwork in this tale. Will they cope together with more upheaval or will it tear them apart? Most current characters could be involved, but will probably also use past characters (because I can't let them go!)
1. Chapter 1

It started off like any other busy day in the ED. Cal was tolerating Lily thinking she was in charge, but mostly he was avoiding her in cubicles. He was laughing with Jacob about it as they were treating a young girl with a radial fracture. Ethan was busy having just called time on a cardiac arrest, a 65-year-old male, admitted having already arrested and there was clearly nothing that could be done despite full advanced life support. Lily had barked orders throughout the resuscitation attempt, but Ethan had just let her go and focused on the job at hand and then swooped in and shown his seniority by calling time first. Lofty, Robyn and Rita all agreed with Ethan and Lily had no choice but to fall in line and agree too. Not that she would have argued otherwise, she knew there was no more they could do, but she wanted to be the one who called it. She stalked out as the nurses started to tidy up and Ethan took a deep breath and picked up the patient's notes to write up the events that had taken place.

Cal had sent his patient to x-ray and was currently standing at the admin desk looking up some blood results for another of his patients, whilst simultaneously signing off an x-ray, chasing up a ward transfer and sipping his first coffee of the day.

"Pub tonight mate?" Jacob asked him as he came along with a drug chart for Cal to sign.

"Definitely." Cal nodded, leaning across and signing the chart. "Can you re-do the obs in cubicle 4 please mate?"

"Sure thing." Jacob replied as he headed off.

"Cal, I need you to look over my patient in cubicle 8." Charlie said.

"Isn't Lily around? I'm a bit tied up." Cal said apologetically nodding at everything he had going on.

"Actually, Connie has just called her out to pick up some audit work. But if you'll just take a look and sign him off I should be able to let him go." Charlie asked again.

"Ok Charlie, give me 5." Cal sighed, forcing a smile. It wasn't Charlie's fault after all. As Cal hung up the phone, filed the blood results, sipped a bit more of his coffee, he headed towards cubicle 8, desperately wishing for some action that might get him out of the ED for a bit. Just a nice little RTC or building collapse to get him outside in the sunshine that had descended on Holby this week. Ok, so building collapse was a bit excessive he thought and he knew it was bad to wish a car accident on anyone, but he just was feeling more frustrated than usual today. Little did he know he was about to get his wish, and more besides.

"Dr Knight, you're needed in the field. The paramedics have requested a doctor at the scene of a rollover RTC involving 4 cars. Certainly one entrapment with more details to follow. Get your kit. I'll send Ethan into cubicles to cover you and I'll cover resus." Connie said authoritatively.

"Sweet!" Cal grinned, practically throwing down the notes he had just picked up and rushing off. Despite his unprofessionalism, Connie couldn't help but stifle a small smile at his excitement. If anyone was going to enjoy a bit of drama it was always going to be Cal, and despite everything, he had definitely proven himself to be good in a crisis before now, especially those out in the field. When Cal reappeared with his kit, he was met by Iain and Jez who had dropped one casualty off and were about to head back out to the crash site.

"So, coming back out to play with the big boys then mate?" Iain grinned.

"You know me, can't turn down the excitement." Cal grinned back. "You coming to the pub tonight?" He asked the boys as he jumped into the back of the ambulance and they climbed into the cab.

"Definitely." Jez replied.

"Just try and stop us." Iain added as he started the engine of the ambulance and pulled out of the hospital carpark sticking the lights and sirens going.

Meanwhile, Ethan let out a big sigh once Connie had taken over from him in resus and informed him that he needed to pick up where Cal had left off in cubicles. He rummaged through the notes trying to work out where Cal had got to, but it was all in a mess, as per usual Ethan thought to himself, wondering why Cal just couldn't have an organised, methodical approach.

"I think he was about to discharge the patient in 3, and then the young girl in 6 needs her x-ray reviewing. Charlie has just let the man from 8 go. And I've re-done the obs in 4 but everything is looking stable for now and they are waiting for a head CT. I've got Mac staying to monitor him for changes." Jacob said, giving Ethan the kind of patient handover he needed.

"Thanks." Ethan nodded at the nurse and headed off.

Cal was busy at the site assessing and treating the worst affected patients, while Iain and Jez were preparing to take in another patient, who seemingly had a fractured wrist and a head laceration.

"Well, funnily enough I was on my way to Holby hospital anyway, I never imagined being taken there by ambulance." The girl half laughed to Jez, who was in the back completing her paperwork.

"Yeah? Why were you going there? Not somewhere I'd go for a fun day out."

"I'm looking for someone. He works there." The girl said timidly.

"Well, unless he works in the ED, you'll have a bit of a wait to find him."

"That's the strange thing, he does." She smiled wistfully. Jez looked at her, she had the look of a woman in love, and he wondered which poor sucker was in for finding themselves in a full blown stalker situation, because that was how this was feeling.

Before they knew it the casualties from the crash were filtering in and it was an all hands on deck approach as everyone got on and ploughed through the patients.

"Excuse me?" A female voice said to Noel on reception. He looked up to see a pretty young girl clutching her wrist in front of him. "I can see that you're busy, but I was wondering if a Doctor Knight works here?" Noel couldn't help but assume this was yet another of Cal's conquests, and also thought he had been crazy if he'd let this one go. Her honey blonde hair shone under the lights of the hospital, though it did contain a small amount of blood from a head wound, and her big brown eyes made her look innocent.

"Well, yes he does, but he's out at a scene at the moment." Noel looked apologetically. "But we have many other great doctors here who can help you." Noel added trying to be helpful.

"Oh, well I was hoping to see Dr Knight." She looked a little crestfallen.

"Well, he will be back, perhaps once you're treated you can see him." Noel said, not wanting to let the pretty girl down.

"Right, yes…yes, that would, that would be goo-" She started, to say, but the room began to spin around her as she came over somewhat faint. She grabbed the reception desk and Noel reached out to steady her, shouting out to Max to help and together they lowered her into a chair. Just then Ethan came past and ushered them into a cubicle he had just discharged a patient from as Louise quickly changed the sheet on the trolley, together they helped the young lady up onto the trolley.


	2. Chapter 2

"So we'll get your wrist x-rayed, we'll wait for the bloods to come back and Robyn here will get you some pain relief and glue that head wound for you." Ethan smiled kindly at the young woman as he exited the cubicle to order the x-ray.

"Right, Jessica." Robyn smiled at her, "shall we get started. Do you have any allergies?"

"Please, call me Jess, Jessica makes me feel like I'm in trouble." She smiled. "No, no allergies."

"Ok Jess, I'll just go and get you some pain relief and then we'll get you glued up and off to x-ray ok?"

"Thank you." Jess nodded quietly. While Robyn was gone, she pulled her bag onto her lap and pulled a crumpled letter out of it, glancing over some of the text before tears formed in her eyes again. Tears of guilt, anguish, fear of the unknown, how would this pan out? She had given it some thought, but coming here today had been a whim, and she did consider that if she hadn't been caught up in the accident then she might have done what she had previously and driven right past the hospital, or even parked up but not gotten out of the car. But the accident had brought her right in the firing line. And now she was curious, but terrified. As Robyn came back around the curtains she shoved the letter back in her bag and smiled at the nurse.

"Everything ok?" Robyn asked curiously, looking down at Jess's bag.

"Fine." Jess smiled and nodded, taking the pills Robyn offered her. As Robyn was gluing the wound and had been chatting to Jess about anything and everything, Jess suddenly spoke. "Do you know Dr Knight?"

"Dr Knight? Cal? Yes, why? Oh my god, have you two?" Robyn gasped, smiling wickedly with her eyebrows raised.

"What? No, I've never met him. But I'm trying to track him down."

"But why?"

"It's complicated. But I need to speak to him. I need some information from him, about someone, a woman. I can't really say too much." Jess said nervously, looking around the gap in the curtains to make sure no one else was listening in. Robyn eyed her suspiciously, but was never one to give up on gossip.

"Sounds intriguing."

"Well, I don't know about that." Jess said closing up again. "Is he back yet?"

"How do you…?"

"Your receptionist told me."

"Oh. Well I haven't seen him. Is he in trouble?" Robyn looked concerned.

"Oh no, I just need some information, that's all." Jess said, trying to make less of it, already feeling uncomfortable with the line of questioning. "Will this take much longer?"

"I'm nearly done with your head, then you just need to have the x-ray so we can see if you've fractured your wrist or if it's just a sprain. And Dr Hardy will want to review the bloods we took."

"Ok." Jess nodded.

"There we go." Robyn stepped back to admire her handy work. "Now I just need to check before you go to x-ray. Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

"Pregnant?" Jess looked at her. "Um, no. No I'm not pregnant." She rushed out suddenly, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks.

"Are you absolutely sure? Because if you could be we will need to further protect you during the x-ray."

"No. I'm not pregnant." Jess said sulkily.

"Right." Robyn said as she left the cubicle, wondering what really was going on with Jess. She couldn't help but think she was a strange one. Robyn wondered if she was lying and she really had met Cal, because she suspected that this girl was another of Cal's dumpee's who was looking for another night with the dashing doctor. Perhaps she was pregnant and she was back to tell Cal. No, that had already happened to him once, surely he wouldn't be that daft a second time would he? Robyn thought to herself, smiling as she headed to the admin desk to check and see if she could send Jess for her x-ray. She looked around but there was still no sign of Cal having returned.

"What are you looking so happy about?" Louise asked Robyn.

"Happy? Nothing." Robyn smiled, then beckoned Louise closer, "you know the girl Jess in cubicle 1?"

"Wrist fracture and head lac?" Louise asked nodding.

"Yes, well she's looking for Cal and I bet they've slept together and she's back to find him."

"Really Robyn, I doubt it." Louise sighed, not wanting to get dragged into another of Robyn's soap opera style drama's.

"No really, she's pretending she wants information from him but she's claiming she's never met him. But I don't believe her, she's acting weird. And she got funny with me when I asked if she might be pregnant."

"Right, well lots of people don't like being asked if they could be pregnant, it's not conclusive."

"No, just trust me Louise, there is something odd about this."

"Well if that really is the case then we should keep Cal as far away from her as possible."

"As far away from who?" piped up Jez from behind them.

"A girl who came in from the crash, she's looking for Cal."

"Wait, this isn't the blonde with the fractured wrist?"

"That's the one!" Robyn said excitedly.

"Well, she said she was on her way here looking for someone when we were travelling in, but she didn't say who. So it's Cal who's destined to get a new stalker then eh?" Jez grinned.

"See, Jez agrees with me." Robyn looked smug.

"That's no proof, it just proves you are both suckers for gossip."

"You like gossip too Louise." Robyn sulked.

"But I like it when it's founded in the possibility of truth or surprising. This, even if it is true, with Cal it's hardly surprising." Louise sighed, walking away again. Robyn looked at Jez but he just shrugged and headed back out to the ambulance.

"Robyn, has Jess gone for her X-ray yet?" Ethan asked.

"I was about to let her go." Robyn nodded, hesitating slightly. She was considering asking Ethan if Cal had brought home any conquests recently, but she figured it may make it look like she was interested, so she slipped back to Jess to let her go to x-ray.

Cal came back through the ED doors, wheeling a critical patient through with another team of paramedics towards resus, giving Connie a thorough handover.

"Thank you Dr Knight; you'd better go and get cleaned up." She nodded, seeing the blood covered overalls Cal was now sporting. Cal nodded and headed off to the staff room to grab his scrub top and went off to the bathroom to clean up.

Ethan had returned to Jess to check on her after Robyn had plastered her wrist. He was clutching her blood results.

"How is the wrist feeling Jess?" He asked kindly.

"Oh, it's ok thank you. Robyn has been wonderful." She smiled at the nurse.

"Well, I have your blood results back." Ethan started and Jess looked up at him with a look of horror on her face. "Don't look so worried, they are all fine. Nothing abnormal showing at all. It was probably the shock of everything happening that caused you to faint."

"Oh, right." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok. So I can go now?"

"Yes, you're free to go. I've written you a prescription for some pain killers just to cover you for the next few days, your wrist will be a bit sore for a bit, but if you need more you can always see your GP."

"Thank you Dr Hardy." Jess smiled. "You've been very kind."

"My pleasure." He smiled back at the young girl as they held eye contact. Robyn looked from Jess to Ethan and then back to Jess and smiled to herself. Ethan broke the eye contact first, letting out a small uncomfortable cough, as he handed over the prescription and slipped out of the cubicle and bumped right into Cal.

"Watch it Nibbles!" Cal laughed as he steadied Ethan by holding onto his shoulders. "You look a bit flushed, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Cal." Ethan said slightly shortly.

"Well, that tells me you're not." Cal looked at him. Just then Robyn appeared.

"I think Jess has something else she wants to ask you. I reckon you're in there." Robyn grinned as she headed off. Ethan could feel Cal's smirk without even looking at him.

"Well, well Nibbles? You been hiding strippers in cubicles again?" He laughed, referring to the time Ethan had hidden Honey from her dad after her accident at the club.

"Don't be ridiculous." Ethan scoffed, turning back towards Jess's cubicle. Cal waited until he was out of sight and the followed him, still smirking.

"I'm sorry Dr Hardy, I know you must be very busy, but I just had one more question."

"That's ok, anything you need." Ethan said.

"Right, well, I know you said the blood results were all fine, but I was just wondering what you actually tested for?"

"Oh right. Well, we screened your kidney and liver function, took a full blood count, that checks for anaemia and signs of infection and inflammatory markers."

"Right, ok." She nodded, but Ethan could sense there was more.

"Jess, is there something you're worried about?" He asked softly.

"No, well, not really. I just wanted to be sure what you tested and what was normal. I guess I'm just a bit worried because I lost my mum recently and well, I guess you don't need to know that, sorry." Jess shook her head.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Ethan said gently.

"It's fine, we weren't that close, I was just worried that I might be ill too, it's silly, I know it is."

"No, no it's not. It's perfectly natural to have these worries and concerns when a family member has been ill. Have you talked to anyone about your concerns?"

"Oh no, really, there's no need. I just had a bit of a wobble when you mentioned blood testing."

"Well, if you need to talk to someone, I'm sure your GP can help." Ethan nodded.

"Thank you Dr Hardy, you've been great." She nodded back at him.

"Is there anything else?" He said, loitering by the curtain.

"No, that's fine, thank you." Jess smiled, avoiding asking the last question on her mind. Ethan smiled and walked out of the cubical and right into Cal again.

"Cal, what are you doing here still?" He said, then realisation hit. "Were you listening in?" He said in an annoyed whisper, dragging Cal away from the cubical by his arm.

"Yes, and from the sounds of it, it's a good job I did. You need some serious work on your chat up lines." Cal smirked.

"I wasn't chatting her up, Cal! She's a patient, _my_ patient." Ethan said getting uptight.

"Alright, chill out Nibbles." Cal laughed. "You've discharged her now, what's the harm. Go in and ask her out." Cal smiled. "Unless she has the kind of face that only a mother would love." Cal chuckled but no sooner had he said it he was eating his words as Jess slipped out of the cubicle and slung her bag on her shoulder, being careful of her plastered wrist. "Is that her? She's fit, what are you waiting for?" He shoved Ethan harder than he realised.

"No Cal, I'm not asking her out."

"Then I might have to, show her some fun with the good time doctor." He grinned as Ethan walked away and he watched Jess walk towards reception. He watched as she spoke to Noel and he turned around and pointed towards them and as Jess looked up and made eye contact with him, he felt peculiar. It was almost as if he had seen her before somewhere. He couldn't recall sleeping with her, but that didn't really mean anything. He quickly wracked his brains trying to think but as she got nearer to him, his mind drew a blank so his fixed on his flirtiest smile and decided to play it cool.

"Um, excuse me? Dr Knight isn't it?" Jess said.

"That's me, how can I help?" He smiled.

"I was hoping to be able to talk to you? I know you're busy but perhaps we could meet for a drink after your shift ends?" Cal couldn't believe his luck, he didn't even have to try, he'd scored a date just by standing and looking gorgeous. Ethan was going to spit feathers at this. Cal stealing his woman without even trying.

"Ok, sure." Cal smiled. "I can meet you over at the Hope and Anchor in an hour?" He said.

"Thank you." She smiled and turned away heading outside and hoping he had meant it and that he would turn up. It also gave an hour to work out what she was going to say.


	3. Chapter 3

Cal decided to keep his drink with Jess to himself for now, he didn't want to risk annoying Ethan over something that might not happen, and Ethan was working until late so he may never need to know. Though Cal knew if it went well he wouldn't be able to resist gloating his win over his brother.

He was getting changed, glad that he put on a shirt this morning that was firstly clean and secondly looked decent enough for an after work drink with a girl. He was heading out the doors when Robyn went past.

"Looking good Cal, you off out with the boys?"

"The boys?" Cal said as realisation hit. He'd forgotten they were all heading over the pub after shift tonight. Oh well, nothing he could do now. "Something like that." He smiled at Robyn as he headed out and Robyn shrugged and carried on with her work. Cal walked across the carpark, doubts creeping in for the first time that she may not have turned up. But then she had asked him out, but why? He couldn't help but wonder about her intentions, something about the way she had asked him, it made it sound more like a business proposition than a date. But maybe that was just her way. He pushed open the door to the pub, silently thankful that it wasn't too busy, and he saw her sat at a table nursing a glass of white wine. He slipped to the bar and got a pint then moved over to join her.

"Hey." He smiled as he took a sip of his pint and sat down.

"Hello." She gave a small shy smile back. "Sorry, I would have waited until you got here but I'm not sure they'd have liked it if I'd sat here without a drink."

"It's fine." He shrugged. "I'd have probably been on my second or third by now." He chuckled.

"What makes you say I'm not." She smiled a little more.

"You're not relaxed enough yet." He returned as quick as a flash. She took a sip of her wine and looked at him, trying to work out if he was what she had expected.

"So, this is nice." Cal smiled. "Do you want to tell me about yourself?"

"Perhaps I should explain why I'm here?" Jess said, hoping his curiosity would peak.

"Ok?" Cal looked confused and felt a flutter of nerves.

"Well, where do I start? Ok, so I've been working in Australia for the past 9 months, and a few weeks ago my Mum contacted me to say she'd received a letter that contained information that I needed to know." Jess started to explain. Cal's eyes flickered over her, trying to work out where she was going with this.

"Wait, didn't you tell Ethan that your Mum had died recently?" Cal suddenly questioned, remembering what he had heard through the curtain.

"I thought that was confidential, but yes." Jess fixed him with a slightly icy glare, one that rivalled anything Mrs Beauchamp could throw at him. Cal suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. "Anyway, my Mum has always been very honest with me, you see she isn't my birth mother, she adopted me when I was a baby. My birth mother had already had 2 children taken away from her, and when she found herself pregnant with me a couple of years later, social services quickly stepped in to remove me from her care as soon as I was born." Jess stopped to take a large drink of her wine, the story harder to get out than she thought it would be. "They thought she wouldn't be able to look after me as she apparently couldn't look after her other 2 children." Cal half smiled at her in recognition, knowing how it felt to find out that you were adopted. Then it suddenly started to dawn on him why she would be telling him this. But it couldn't be, could it? He was half way through a sip of beer and nearly choked on it. As he coughed and put the glass back down, Jess looked up at him.

"Hang on. Are you trying to tell me that…I mean are we? No, it can't be true." Cal said in shock. Jess looked at him sympathetically.

"I knew a few years ago about my birth mother and her condition, and understood why I was taken away. My mum being honest with me all along helped, and we often talked about tracking her down when I was an adult if and when I felt able to, and Mum always said she would support me. Of course I didn't know about the Huntington's until I met her. I met with Emilie a few times over the years while I was at university, and I would write to her to let her know what I was up to, after all, it wasn't her fault it all ended this way, she never chose to give us up." Jess tried to pick her words carefully, not knowing exactly what Cal's feelings were about it all. "She told me about her boys, Stephen and Michael, and she spoke of you both with such love and sadness, but I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that although I was technically her daughter, she never really saw me so she didn't have any memories to share with me as she did of you." Cal looked at her, still unable to speak, but just quietly taking everything in that she was saying. "Anyway, as I said, I've been in Australia for the last 9 months, and my Mum got a letter from Emilie, well obviously a carer wrote it for her, anyway, she said she'd finally met you and you and your brother were fine young men, but that she hadn't mentioned me as you'd had such a shock anyway and she didn't know if I would want you to know about me. Anyway, then the carer contacted mum to let her know that Emilie had passed away on her way to a hospice, but that you were both with her so she wasn't alone." Jess's voice wobbled a little with emotion but she held it in. "And I've thought about this meeting long and hard. I thought about writing to say I existed and was willing to meet if you wanted to. I thought about whether to just leave you both alone, but I guess I was just too curious to know what you were like. You are technically my half-brothers after all, and I'm an only child, so I've never had siblings to share things with. I guess I'm trying to apologise for dumping this on you but please understand that I've been desperate to meet you."

"But why just invite me, why not both of us?" Cal asked, barely able to speak through the shock.

"I didn't know your brother's name. Emilie had only met you when she last was able to dictate that last letter to me. Being the other side of the world phoning her wasn't an easy option. She said that Stephen was now Dr Caleb Knight and Michael was Ethan, but I couldn't find an Ethan Knight so I wasn't sure if I had that right, but finding a Caleb Knight who worked as a doctor at the ED, just as she said, well it wasn't a co-incidence was it."

"I guess not." Cal breathed. "It's because he's not a Knight."

"What?"

"Ethan, his last name is Hardy, not Knight." Jess looked at him in confusion, but Cal just shook his head. "It's a long story."

"You're not angry I tracked you down are you?" Jess looked at him worried.

"I'm…I'm just shocked. Really shocked. I-I can't believe it."

"I know, I'm sorry. I've had longer to absorb the information and plan for this meeting."

"So, our mum was your- I'm mean we're…" Cal stuttered, voicing the shock that he felt.

"We're half-brother and sister." Jess tried to smile at him. She could hardly believe herself that in front of her sat her big brother. She had often dreamed what it would be like to have a protective older brother when she was growing up. Sure her parents were protective, but a brother would have been so different. Not that she was expecting this from Caleb, but it was nice to see him in the flesh, put a face to the name.

"You know you've seen him." Cal said suddenly.

"Who? Mich- I mean Ethan?"

"Yes, the doctor who treated you today. That was him, that was my brother." Cal said. Jess was shocked, but not entirely surprised as she had somehow thought she had felt a connection. There was something about his manner, he felt familiar and safe. But there was something about the way Caleb had said 'my brother'. It gave that protective brother side that she had dreamed of, a protectiveness he obviously felt for his younger brother, and for a moment she felt even more isolated. Of course Cal hadn't exactly meant it in this way, and nor did he know that was how it came across.

"He seems very nice." Jess said, not knowing what else to say.

"He is." Cal said simply. Silence fell between the pair as they drank their drinks and reflected on the information they had discovered between them.

Just then Jacob, Iain and Jez came noisily through the doors of the pub, laughing at a joke between them. They saw Cal and cheered at him and made their way to the bar. Cal looked over at Jess awkwardly, and without a word, she knew what she had to do. She took a pen out of her bag, scribbled her number on a beer mat and slid it across the table.

"My number. If you want to meet up when you've absorbed this information, then just get in touch. If I never hear from you then I'll understand and respect that too, though it would be nice if Ethan knew about me too. Perhaps you could decide between you. Either way, you won't hear from me again unless you decide to, ok?" She stood up and drained the last of her wine and walked towards the door of the pub, leaving Cal sat in stunned silence. Just before she headed out of the door she turned back to take one last look at him, just in case he chose the latter, and she knew she had to respect his choice. She sighed, but as she was about to walk away he looked up and gave her a small nod of acknowledgement. She smiled a small smile and walked away, not knowing if she would ever see him again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh, no way has Cal been ditched by the girl!" Iain laughed.

"Nah, not our Dr Knight. She's probably gone to wait for him somewhere." Jacob laughed, giving Iain a high five as the two of them and Jez sat down at the table.

"It's not like that guys, really." Cal said, somewhat quietly.

"Ooh, he's heartbroken, look." Jez laughed.

"Really, you don't understand." Cal said draining his pint and heading back up to the bar, ordering a double whiskey and another pint. The boys just looked at him then at each other and shrugged. Even if Cal had struck out, it wasn't really like him to care.

"He's probably better off without her anyway." Jez said quietly while Cal was still at the bar. "She had stalker written all over her."

"Really?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, she told me in the back of the ambulance she was looking for someone and she was asking Robyn about Cal in the ED. But she pretended she'd never met him. I think she's probably a bit of a nutcase." Jez chuckled. "And speaking of nutcases, how's your wife Iain?" He roared with laughter and Jacob chuckled too.

"Aw, don't. She's not my wife." Iain protested as Cal returned to the table.

"You agree Cal don't you?" Jez asked.

"Hmm?" Cal said looking up.

"Rita, she's like Iain's wife."

"Oh, right. Yeah I guess." Cal shrugged, draining another quarter of his pint.

"Go easy mate." Jacob said, looking concerned. "You look like you've just been given a death sentence."

"Sorry." Cal mumbled as the boys continued with their banter. A few more rounds and shots and the boys, now including Cal, were all laughing and messing around. Cal was back at the bar buying a round when he made eyes with a pretty girl across the bar. She had blonde shoulder length hair and petite features but with a sexy rounded derriere he couldn't help but notice. He paid for the round and took a sip of his drink and looked back up and she was still looking. She threw him a flirty smile and he knew he was in there. She was with two other girls, but as he looked over and gave her a brooding look, she looked like she would ditch them there and then to be with him. Cal carried the drinks over to the boys and headed over towards her. Jacob, Iain and Jez all watched him grinning to each other, and before long, Cal was leading the girl outside by her wrist, leaning her up against the wall and kissing her firmly. She was running her hands over him and he was losing himself in the moment, successfully forgetting about the revelation from Jess earlier. Since she had left him all he could think about was how Ethan would take another shock. It had taken a while to build up the trust again after last time and Cal wasn't exactly sure he had fully earned it back yet, so to reveal this now could drive another wedge in between them. But then it wasn't Cal's fault, and if he was going to tell Ethan, he needed to do it soon. However, Jess did say she would never contact them again if he didn't make contact first. Perhaps he could just ignore this and make it all go away, it was possible he considered, but really he was torn. He didn't want Ethan to be hurt and have the upheaval of emotion again, he really didn't need it, not when he was just finding his feet again.

Cal was brought back to earth when his mobile started ringing. He fumbled in his pocket whilst still kissing the girl, and as he peered down at the screen while she was kissing his neck, he saw Ethan's name and a flash of guilt went through him as he rejected the call. He couldn't face Ethan right now, not while his thoughts were still too clouded, and not while he had more important business to attend to. He turned his attention back to the girl, leading her towards where his car was parked in the car park.

Ethan sighed as the phone went to Cal's predictable voicemail: "Hi this is Cal; I can't get to the phone right now but if you play your cards right I might get back to you!" Ethan rolled his eyes and put his phone down on the table. Cal was still clearly having too much fun getting drunk in the pub. Ethan had managed to avoid that one tonight; sure since his diagnosis he had made much more effort on the social front, but tonight he was too tired and he was secretly relieved that he could have a quiet night at home. Although now he was sat there alone, he wasn't so sure it was that much fun. Too much time to think, to allow those nagging feelings to take over and he had worked so hard to push them out of his mind, to try and forget what he was, or more so; what he would become. Letting out another sigh, he made his way to his bedroom, hoping Cal had his keys on him and wouldn't wake him up when he inevitably fell in drunk later that evening.

When Cal had got his relief and managed to convince the girl to go back to her friends, he skulked off towards the flat, leaving the car parked at work, still deliberating whether or not he could drop the next bombshell on Ethan, that they had a half-sister. He put his hand in his pockets and found his hand curling around the beer mat with Jess's number on. He pulled it out and looked at it, then quickly entered it into his phone before he could change his mind and throw the mat away. He considered texting her now, but he knew it was the wrong thing to do under the influence of alcohol. Texting was never a good idea while intoxicated, usually because it meant drunk texting someone you should, usually an ex, and saying things you really shouldn't.

* * *

A/N - Sorry, a boring filler chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I just want to take my usual time to thank you for the follows and favourites and reviews so far for this fic. Don't worry, it won't become a mammoth one like my other fics, but I'm pleased some of you are enjoying it so far. As always, your comments mean a lot to me and keep me inspired to write, so thank you very much for listening to my incessant prattling! **Thank you!** :)

* * *

When Ethan caught up with Cal at work the next day he couldn't help but notice his brother looked a little worse for wear and secretly he was even more relieved to have avoided the night out.

"You look rough." Ethan said as they stood next to each other at the admin desk.

"Yeah, a few too many last night." Cal said. "You missed out."

"I'm not so sure." Ethan half laughed. "You were late home though."

"I know. I had to leave my car behind and walk home."

"Well, I'd say that was definitely the right choice."

"So, your turn tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"Come on Ethan, where's your stamina? 'Be More Cal' remember? You had last night off." Cal said. Secretly he was glad Ethan wasn't there last night, but he thought getting him out for a drink might make telling him what he had found out easier.

"Well-" Ethan thought about it.

"Go on." Cal looked at him hopefully.

"Ok, I suppose a couple won't hurt." Ethan relented.

"Awesome." Cal smiled. Just then Jez and Iain came back through having just dropped off a patient.

"Hey, there he is, big guy. You finally got rid of her then." Jez laughed, referring to the girl from last night. Cal gave him a wide-eyed 'shut up' look, but Jez didn't take the hint. "I thought you might have taken her home."

"Oh Cal, really?" Ethan sighed.

"Come on big mouth." Iain said grabbing Jez and pushing him towards the exit.

"It was just a bit of fun." Cal shrugged at his brother. "You should try it sometime."

"I didn't hear you come in with anyone."

"I didn't bring her home." Cal said, quickly picking up some notes.

"Well where did you…not around the back of the pub, surely?" Ethan looked shocked at his brother.

"My car." Cal groaned, knowing he was never going to hear the end of it if he didn't say.

"Caleb! Honestly." Ethan tutted, snatching up some notes of his own.

"It was just a bit of fun." Cal repeated, but tailed off as Ethan had already walked away. Cal sighed and rolled his eyes and went back to his patients.

"So he went for a drink with her?" Robyn asked Jez, who had stopped on the way out again, this time to pinch a cupcake that Robyn had brought in.

"Yeah, when we arrived at the pub they were sitting at a table together but she swiftly made an exit just after, and then he pulled someone else. Actually, she was quite fit too, I don't know how he does it."

"I do." Robyn sighed without thinking then looked up. "I mean; he's always been like that." She quickly corrected. "So, who was she? And why was she searching for him?"

"I dunno. But it clearly didn't work out." Jez grinned taking another bite of his cupcake. "These are good." He said as he walked away.

"See, I told you." Robyn looked triumphantly at Louise who just rolled her eyes.

"It still doesn't mean anything." She said as she too walked away, leaving Robyn standing there with Jacob who had come in at the end of their conversation.

"What was that about?" He asked, watching Louise walk away.

"I was talking about the girl who was looking for Cal yesterday, but she doesn't think there is any story there, but I'm sure something is going on."

"What girl?"

"The one who Ethan treated with a fractured wrist yesterday. I thought there was a moment between her and Ethan but then she was looking for Cal and apparently they went out for a drink last night."

"Oh, that girl. I saw them together, but they didn't look very 'together' if you get me."

"I wonder why she was so desperate to track him down then?" Robyn said thoughtfully, her brain still ticking on overdrive.

"Well, he was quiet for a while after she left, but maybe it just didn't work out, he soon got over it anyway." Jacob smiled. "Either way, it's not really our business is it?"

"Ok, you've all made your point." Robyn huffed and carried on with her work.

Later that evening Cal and Ethan were sitting together in the pub slowly making their way through a pint and making small talk.

"So then we needed to put a chest drain in." Ethan sighed looking dejected.

"But he got the right treatment in the end." Cal tried to reassure him.

"Yes, but I missed it earlier."

"But he wasn't symptomatic of the pneumothorax, so what would you do?"

"I should have known Caleb, I should have checked the x-ray more thoroughly."

"Look, Ethan, he got the right treatment, everything ended up fine. Put it down to experience, you'll be sure next time. We were really busy today, and nothing bad happened did it? Don't beat yourself up over it." Cal said. Ethan was really down about this patient and Cal was trying his best to make him see he hadn't done anything wrong but Ethan wouldn't be told.

"So anyway, how was your day?" Ethan said trying to change the subject and not drag his brother down.

"Yeah, ok. I was working with an agency nurse, she was alright." Cal smiled. Ethan just gave him an exasperated look.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you know how sometimes they are beyond useless but she was good, very competent."

"I'm sure _that's_ what you mean."

"Really Ethan." Cal tried to protest.

"I saw you, you're not as discreet as you think when you're flirting."

"I'm surprised you even recognise the action." Cal scoffed.

"Well, I've spent enough time watching you salivate over girls to recognise the predatory look in your eye."

"Maybe you should take a leaf out of my book and make some moves yourself." Cal grinned.

"This isn't about me Cal; and anyway, that's the _last_ thing I need right now, more complications. I've got other things to get my head around." Ethan bit out slightly making Cal flinch. He looked at Ethan and noticed he was looking more tired again lately. Maybe things were getting too much for him. So far Cal had indulged his brother in his new mantra and was enjoying seeing him cut loose a bit more, but he could also recognise that lately Ethan was having to work harder at it, and maybe it was time he stood back and worked out what he really wanted. Cal had avoided having any heart to heart talks with his brother since that day at the beach; it was easier to go along with the carefree and almost pretend it wasn't happening, but soon this façade was going to get too much for him, and now Cal had something else to add to the equation. Something which he was supposed to be telling him now; but here he was, looking at his brother's sullen face staring into his hardly touched pint and he didn't even know how to start. Just like before, the intention was there but the timing felt wrong and the words just wouldn't come.

"Come on, maybe we should just go home?" Cal said standing up, looking sadly at his brother.

"No, we can stay if you want to." Ethan said without any enthusiasm.

"No, come on, I say we grab a pizza and go home and chill." Cal smiled at him. Ethan nodded and obediently followed his big brother.

When they got home and were sat eating pizza together, Cal got his phone out and looked at Jess's number. He knew Ethan deserved to know, he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to say it tonight. He was too down about work, and Cal couldn't add to his stress. He wondered again if he should just delete her number and pretend it never happened but he knew he couldn't. Besides, his own curiosity now made him want to get back in touch with her and have a proper talk. After all, she got more time with their mum before she was so unwell, and she might be able to give him some more insight too. Maybe he should meet up with Jess again first and get some more answers before telling Ethan, that could work he thought; although he remembered it didn't really turn out like that last time.

"You're quiet." Ethan said suddenly, dragging Cal out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?" Cal said looking up.

"I said you're quiet, and you've barely touched your pizza, are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. Just not very hungry I guess." Cal said, putting down the slice of pizza he had been holding.

"Are you sure?" Ethan looked at him questioningly.

"Everything is fine Ethan." Cal said more assuredly. Then realising his tone was perhaps a bit harsh, he added: "Really." Giving Ethan a smile, noticing that even despite all of this, his little brother was still caring about him. Cal's throat felt tight at the thought and he stood up suddenly, catching Ethan by surprise. "I'm heading to bed." He announced. "Goodnight." He said as he disappeared. Ethan looked at the space that he had occupied only moments ago and wondered what was up with his brother today as he really wasn't himself.


	6. Chapter 6

The following day Ethan was in on the early shift and was absorbed in a couple of tricky cases that were keeping him thinking. Cal wasn't due in until later that day and hadn't surfaced before Ethan had left for work; not that Ethan minded, especially if Cal was still in a funny mood he thought. Suddenly Robyn was calling him through to cubicles to urgently review a patient.

"What is it Robyn?" Ethan asked, wondering what her urgency was.

"That girl is back."

"What girl?" Ethan looked exasperated, he had treated many female patients in the past week or so, how would he know which she meant.

"The one with the wrist fracture from the other day. You know, the pretty blonde."

"Oh, right." Ethan said, suddenly understanding why Robyn was calling him through. "Is she ok, did I miss something?" He said concerned.

"No, well she'd been complaining of more pain but also a numbness and tight feeling under the cast." Robyn said.

"Right, let's have a look." Ethan nodded and followed Robyn to the cubicle.

"Hello again Jess." He smiled, looking at the notes to remind him of her name. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Dr Hardy, I'm so sorry to bother you again. I wouldn't have come back, but my arm has been even more painful over the past 24 hours and it just feels really numb but also really tight, it's quite odd. I phoned the out of hours' phone line and they said I should attend, but I really didn't want to be a bother." She said apologetically.

"No, you're not a bother, this is what we are here for. Let's take a look shall we?" He smiled kindly. He examined her hand and arm thoroughly and listened to her description of the symptoms and decided the cast definitely needed to come off, so Robyn removed it and Ethan examined her arm again more thoroughly.

"Right." He nodded. "Jess, I'm just going to ask Robyn to take some bloods and I'll be back in a moment, ok?" He smiled again, trying to be reassuring and not look too concerned. "Robyn, can we get U&Es, LFTS, FBC and a CRP urgently please?"

"Sure thing Dr Hardy." Robyn smiled and set about getting the bloods while Ethan slipped out of the cubicle. He took a deep breath outside and regained his composure, and when Robyn came out clutching the bloods he pulled her aside.

"Robyn, I think we're looking at acute compartment syndrome, I'm going to have to do an urgent fasciotomy to relieve the pressure or she's at risk of losing her arm."

"Oh my god, really?" Robyn exclaimed and Ethan pulled her further away and shushed her.

"Yes, but I don't want to worry her. But it could be serious if I don't relieve the pressure now." He said seriously.

"Right ok, shall I get Rita for you?"

"Why Rita?"

"Well, she's probably more experienced." Robyn admitted.

"No, you can do this Robyn, besides, she's going to need distracting and you already have a prior connection with her, and you're great at distraction. I can do the rest."

"Ok." She nodded. She gave the bloods to Max to run up to the lab for her as Ethan gathered the equipment he would need. Then they both returned to Jess, who was sitting, unaware of how serious her injury had been.

"Ok, Jess. I need to you listen to me ok?" Ethan started and Jess looked from him to Robyn and then back to Ethan with a startled look. She couldn't work out why they looked so serious. "I suspect you have a complication to your fracture, a condition known as acute compartment syndrome."

"Compartment syndr-" Jess started to repeat but tailed off, looking alarmed. "What's that?"

"There is swelling and increased pressure in your muscles in your forearm which will be preventing the blood from flowing properly and we need to relieve it or it could cause permanent tissue damage."

"But you can fix it?" Jess asked, looking really panicked now.

"Yes, but we need to perform a procedure called a fasciotomy. I'm afraid I'm going to need to make a surgical incision in your forearm to relieve the pressure, and then after you will need to have surgery to fix it once everything has settled down, ok?"

"I can't, I can't do that." Jess said, starting to tremble with fear.

"Jess, listen to me." Ethan said, looking right into her eyes. "We need to do this now, or there is a possibility you could lose your arm. I don't want to frighten you, but you have to understand this is serious. I don't take doing this lightly, ok? And Robyn will be here with you the whole time."

"I'm right here." Robyn smiled. "I won't leave you." Jess looked and them both, still terrified, but eventually she nodded.

"Ok." She said quietly, as a small tear escaped from her eye and slipped down her cheek. She brushed it away quickly, feeling embarrassed. Robyn gave her good arm a supportive squeeze and helped her to lie back on the bed as Ethan prepared his trolley. He scrubbed up and Robyn helped his tie up his gown and place a surgical drape under Jess' arm. She remained with Jess, talking to her and supporting her while Ethan talked her through the procedure, first ensuring he anaesthetised the area well. He worked quickly and skilfully and released the pressure within Jess' arm, covering the site with bulky dressings to absorb blood loss and also so she wouldn't have to be shocked by it.

"All done Jess. You did really well. Now I just need you to keep the arm elevated and still for me, ok?" Ethan said softly.

"How are you feeling?" Robyn asked kindly. Jess still looked shocked and simply nodded to try and indicate that she was ok.

"We'll get you some more pain relief and then I'll get someone to review this for us, ok?" Ethan said as he disrobed and tidied up his trolley. As he left Robyn to give her some pain relief, he went to see if he could find Zoe to look over what he had done.

"Dr Hardy?" Robyn called after him. "You didn't sign the prescription chart for the pain relief."

"Oh, sorry." Ethan said whist signing the chart.

"You were really good in there."

"It was nothing." Ethan shrugged.

"You kept her calm when she was terrified, it was really good." Robyn enthused.

"Well, I had an excellent assistant." Ethan smiled and Robyn looked pleased as she headed back into the cubicle. Just then Cal came sauntering past.

"Heads up Nibbles." Cal said tossing vomit bowl at him, making Ethan flinch thinking it was full.

"Cal, for goodness sake!" Ethan huffed as the bowl hit him and fell to the ground.

"This is why you never got picked for the cricket team in school, no reflexes." Cal chuckled, picking up the bowl.

"I never tried out for the cricket team." Ethan said, giving Cal a look.

"Good job! We'd never have won the county cup if we'd had you." Cal nudged him playfully, trying to raise a smile.

"Cal, I've just had to do an emergency fasciotomy, I'm not in the mood for your jokes."

"Cool, on what?"

"A forearm. A girl who came in after the RTC the day before yesterday."

"Oh, really?" Cal suddenly looked more concerned.

"Yes, I'm just going to find Zoe to come and review it for me."

"Do you want me to?" Cal said suddenly, shocking Ethan at his eagerness to help, then realisation hit him and he glared at Cal.

"What just so you can flirt with her and score yourself a date, I don't think so. Besides, a date with you will be the last thing on her mind right now."

"I was just offering my help, but if you don't want it fine." Cal shrugged and walked around the corner, loitering until Ethan was out of sight then he rushed across to the board, glancing at the name of the patient in the cubicle. He was about to turn around and sneak in when he saw Zoe walking back with Ethan as he explained what he had done. Cal for now had to wait and hope she wouldn't let on about anything.

Cal couldn't concentrate properly for the remainder of the afternoon; he was desperately trying to get time to slip into Jess but every time he was able to Ethan seemed to be in there. Cal was getting more irritated and more anxious. Finally, he was able to slip in and speak to her.

"Jess, what are you doing here?" He said somewhat accusingly as he slipped behind the curtain. Jess looked up, not expecting to see him and flinched at his tone.

"Caleb, I'm sorry, I didn't want to come, but I kind of had to." She said, nodding towards her arm.

"You haven't said anything to him have you?" He rushed out.

"No, that's not why I'm here. I know you don't know me, but honestly I'm not like that. I'm not here to cause trouble." She said looking earnestly at him, and as Cal looked back into her eyes, he could see Ethan sitting there and it pained him. Now he looked at her, there were similarities there.

"I'm going to tell him, I will, but he was a bit stressed the other night, he's had a lot to deal with in the past few months." Cal said sadly. He held his breath considering confiding in her, after all, if anyone would understand it would be Jess, but he couldn't. It wasn't for him to say.

"It's fine. Like I said, I understand if you don't want more stress. But I just had to make contact. You understand don't you?" She looked concerned at him and he felt guilty. He sat next to her on the edge of the trolley carefully.

"Jess, I do understand. And Ethan will want to know, I just have to time it right. I messed it all up before and nearly lost him over it all. I can't risk it again." He said softly. Jess looked at him and chewed on her bottom lip. "Really, I will tell him, and then we can get to know each other properly, if that's what you want?" Cal asked her.

"I'd love to." She said quietly, looking up at him and letting out a small smile. "Besides, it looks like I won't be working for a little while, so I'll have time on my hands." She rolled her eyes nodding towards her arm. Just then Ethan came back in, shocked to see Cal sitting on Jess' bed.

"What are you doing Caleb?" He hissed at his brother. "Sorry Jess, is he bothering you?"

"No, it's fine Dr Hardy, I was feeling a bit wobbly and he was just reassuring me." Jess said easily. Cal looked at her and smiled and nodded slightly, impressed at her easy little white lie to protect Ethan.

"I'll leave you with Dr Hardy, he will sort you out." Cal said as he left the cubicle, satisfied that Jess wouldn't say anything to incriminate him, for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Cal needed to think. He needed to tell Ethan, but he had never been good at this. He wished he could just send him a text saying Jess was their half-sister, that would be the easiest way, but he never would; he was just wishing for an easy option that didn't make it feel like he'd been harbouring yet another secret.

He finally got his opportunity the following evening. Both he and Ethan had been on the early shift and Ethan had asked that instead of going out if they could have a night in with a take away; mainly because he knew he had 2 double shifts to work over the weekend and he was already tired after a busy week.

Their food was delivered and the boys sat at the table devouring it hungrily. They had been talking about the latest scandal at work, with Elle supposedly having dropped Charlie in it and now he had been suspended pending investigation into stolen drugs.

"I just can't believe it of Charlie. There has to be more to the story." Cal said, stuffing another mouthful of food.

"I know; it just doesn't make sense does it. But apparently Ella said she found the drugs in his locker." Ethan replied.

"What was she doing going through his locker anyway?" Cal scoffed angrily. "They are private. I don't even go through your locker!"

"You do!" Ethan said flashing him an annoyed look.

"When have I _ever_ been in your locker?" Cal shot back.

"Um, to borrow deodorant, get my laptop, you took my bank card, need I go on?"

"Ok, fine. But that's different. I wasn't trying to get you in trouble."

"No, just stealing my money." Ethan raised his eyebrows. Cal shifted uncomfortably in his seat; it had been a long time since that was mentioned between them, and he was now wishing he'd avoided this subject. Ethan saw him looking uncomfortable and he too felt guilty for bringing it up.

"I'm sorry Ethan." Cal said, looking at him.

"It doesn't matter now, that's all in the past. I shouldn't have dragged it up again."

"No, really, I've not been a good brother to you in the past. I've messed up so many times; even when I try to do things right, I mess it all up." Cal looked down sadly at his plate and put his fork down.

"Cal, it's fine. We've grown up. We've moved on." Ethan tried to reassure him. Cal looked back up at his brother, seeing the caring, reassuring look in his eyes and it hurt him even more. He had to do it.

"Ethan, I need to tell you something." Cal said suddenly. Ethan looked at him, concerned about what was coming. Nothing good often came from Cal's sudden announcements. Cal held Ethan's look and tried to read his facial expression, but he couldn't. He didn't know how this was going to go, and now he had said that, he couldn't think of what to say next.

"Well?" Ethan prompted when Cal remained silent.

"I, um. Well, I found something out the other day. And you need to know, but I don't really know how to tell you."

"Caleb for goodness sake, what is it?"

"Well, you remember how I found out about Mum, and then I wanted more answers for you and then I found out too much and I didn't know how to tell you until it was too late and she was in hospital."

"Yes." Ethan said, blinking steadily as he watched Cal's panic coming out, wondering what on earth could be upsetting him so much.

"And I told you that wasn't the way I wanted to break the news to you, but I was trying to protect you and it all went wrong didn't it, and then I nearly lost you because of it." Cal said, speaking faster.

"Right." Ethan prompted again, getting more confused and more concerned as he frowned at his brother.

"Ethan, I've found some more information out about Mum, well about what happened after we'd been adopted."

"Cal, you're not making this any better, just tell me." Ethan said somewhat shakily.

"Ethan, um, we've got…we've got a half-sister." Cal said, his voice shaking as he cautiously looked at Ethan, waiting for a reaction. Ethan's mouth dropped wide, and he made shapes while his brain tried to connect with his mouth to form some words. After what felt to Cal like an eternity, he finally managed to speak.

"A what?" He whispered in shock.

"A half-sister." Cal said almost as quietly.

"How long have you known?" Ethan looked up suddenly, sounding more accusing.

"Only a few days, I found out the night I went out to the RTC." Cal said, trying to fight his corner. "I'd have told you sooner, but the night after when I took you to the pub you were upset about a patient and the timing didn't feel right. But then I realised, like with Mum, there would never be a good time." Cal looked at him again and Ethan just stared back, seeing to worry in his brother's eyes.

"I can't believe it." He sighed. "How did you find out?" He still looked confused.

"She found me. She had found Mum before. Her adoptive parents were open about the adoption, and helped her trace her birth mother and in their early meetings Mum told her about us, so she's always known somewhere she had brothers. Then when she heard Mum had died, she wanted to look us up."

"So why wasn't she there at the end?" Ethan asked.

"She's been working in Australia for the last 9 months."

"But- Well, why didn't she find me?" Ethan said, sounding like a lost boy.

"She said she had a letter from Mum just after she'd met me saying who I was now and that's how she found me. But although she knew you were called Ethan, she was looking for an Ethan Knight, she didn't know you were Hardy."

"I see." He nodded, clearly still trying to take everything in. Then suddenly he realised he'd missed the obvious question. "So, who is she?" He looked at Cal seriously.

"Well, that's the thing, you know her. Well, sort of. You've met her, in fact you've treated her."

"What? Who?" Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly as his mind went back through who he had met recently, trying to work out who she might be.

"It's Jess."

"Not Jess with the wrist fracture, the one who I had to do a fasciotomy on?" Ethan looked shocked, and Cal nodded.

"Did she know it was me?" He looked at Cal, a flash of anger in his eyes.

"When she came back the second time, yes." Cal said, looking concerned.

"And _that's_ why you were so desperate to get in that cubicle? To make sure we didn't have a repeat of Mum?" Ethan said looking accusingly at Cal. Cal squirmed in his seat.

"Well, kind of, yes. I was going to tell you, but I couldn't risk it happening a second time."

"I can't believe you. Would you even be telling me now if you weren't so worried about being dropped in it? Or did you make sure she wouldn't tell me during your cosy chat in the cubicle?"

"No Ethan, I just wanted her to know that I hadn't told you but that I was going to tell you soon." Ethan looked scornfully at him. "Please Ethan, I didn't, I mean you must know I wouldn't keep this from you."

"How can I? Your past form doesn't do you any favours."

"Exactly, I've learnt my lesson. Ethan, she was willing to walk away and never come back if we didn't want to know. But I know you. I know you'd want to know, you _deserve_ to know and _that's_ why I'm telling you. But if you don't believe me then fine." Cal huffed. Ethan considered this for a moment, and then he let out a deep sigh.

"I suppose it's just a shock." He said.

"You're telling me." Cal agreed. "I don't think I spoke more than a few sentences after Jess told me before she walked out the other night."

"I just can't believe it; it makes me wonder what else is going to come out?"

"I think we've had enough shocks now." Cal mumbled.

"Some of us more than others." Ethan sighed, making Cal feel like he had punched him in the stomach. He looked sadly at his little brother, wishing not for the first time, that he could take it all away, change everything for him, but he couldn't.

"I'm sorry Ethan."

"Why? It's not your fault." Ethan said. "I guess in the back of my mind I'm feeling bad because this should be good news. I mean we have a sister, but all I can think is 'great, someone else who will have avoided my fate to make me feel worse'. I mean how bad is that?" Ethan said guiltily.

"No Ethan; no it's not bad. You don't have to feel guilty for that. Of course you would. And actually we don't know if she even knows her status. I mean she might not have been tested. We didn't really talk about anything."

"Really?" Ethan asked.

"No, we spoke for about half an hour before Iain, Jez and Jacob arrived and she left. All she told me was that she found Mum, and was told about us and then she was away when she heard about Mum dying and got back and tracked us, well me, down. She was curious about her big brothers."

"Big brothers." Ethan replied quietly, considering this. "I guess I'm not the baby anymore." He half smiled, still in shock.

"You'll always be my baby brother Cal smiled at him. Ethan looked up, catching the slight glint in Cal's eyes and smiled too.

"Yeah, I guess we're lucky, if you can call it that. We have a lifetime of sibling memories tying us together which Jess doesn't have with us. Although remembering what you were like to grow up with maybe she was better off without."

"Hey, I was a great big brother!"

"Um, no you weren't!" Ethan smiled properly for the first time since Cal revealed about Jess.

"I was." Cal laughed, knowing that that was stretching the truth ever so slightly.

"Hmm, how many stories shall I pull out of the bag to prove that you weren't?"

"Ok, so maybe I teased you a lot, but it was only to prepare you for school." Cal laughed.

"No, you made it worse in school." Ethan chuckled too, but looking fondly at his brother. He knew he meant well, and Ethan believed that Cal had learnt about keeping big secrets from him now. "So, where do we go from here then?" Ethan asked, changing the subject back to Jess.

"Well, that's up to you. I have Jess' number, if you want to we can get in contact and meet up, if you don't then we never have to and she said she'd respect that."

"Wow, ok. Well what do you want to do?" Ethan asked. Cal looked at him.

"You tell me your feelings first."

"Well, I think I'd like to meet her properly, not in a work capacity, and maybe get to know her." Ethan looked at Cal then quickly added: "But if you don't want to then we don't have to."

"No, I'd like to meet up with her too." He smiled at Ethan. "And not because you're not enough of a sibling, but because I think we all owe it to each other to find those missing links. And maybe we owe it to mum too." He added quietly. Ethan couldn't answer that, but he just looked at Cal and nodded his agreement.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N - I'm so sorry I neglected this story, I got a bit stuck then the longer I left it the harder it got to go back to. If anyone is still out there then I'm sorry! Please don't hate me! :) Anyway, here is the next chapter for you...**_

* * *

Cal had contacted Jess the following day explaining that he had told Ethan and they both wanted to meet up with her; however, she had now been discharged from hospital and had returned home to her parent's house in Oxford to recuperate following her surgery. Cal had initially felt a little disappointed, then worked out that he and Ethan both had a day off in a couple of days so offered to drive up to see her and Jess was delighted with this plan. She hadn't yet confessed to her parents that she had tracked down her brothers, although she knew they would understand, she felt this was something she needed to do for herself.

Cal was heading into work on the late shift and looking forward to explaining the plan to Ethan when he got there. No sooner had he got through the doors of the ED, Mrs Beauchamp was on his back.

"Dr Knight, good of you to join us."

"I'm not late, I-"

"Never mind excuses, get changed, I need you in resus now." Connie said stalking off again. Cal looked down at his watch in confusion, he wasn't late, he was right on time. Any other day he might have joked with his colleagues about Connie 'needing' him in resus, but he could tell today wasn't one of those days, and he quickly headed to the staff room, while muttering to himself under his breath, to change and get to resus before he got further on the wrong side of his boss. Thrown straight in at the deep end of the effects of a stabbing incident between rival street gangs from the Farmead estate area, with Police flocking the ED wanting updates and statements, and the team desperately trying to save the lives of the three teenagers involved while others were having minor wounds sorted in cubicles. The staff were on tenterhooks trying to control things and keep the kids apart, as well as getting on with their jobs. It wasn't until they had got 2 of the teens to surgery and had unfortunately lost the third, that Cal had even seen Ethan. Cal was outside having a quick breath of fresh air and a coffee and Ethan had gone out to await an ambulance which was inbound with a trauma case.

"Tough day huh?" Ethan started, seeing Cal staring into space.

"You can say that again, kids eh?" Cal responded, and Ethan couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Coming from you?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I know, I sound old, hell I _am_ old compared to these kids. Why do they do it Ethan?"

"They don't know any better I guess, not everyone has a good upbringing like us. We were lucky I guess?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, speaking of that, I've been thinking." Cal started, but Ethan's eye flicked away momentarily as the ambulance came screaming into the forecourt. Before long, Rita and Charlie had appeared.

"Zoe is ready in Resus for this one Ethan, we're with you." Charlie said, having heard that the trauma coming in was a 5-year-old pedestrian involved in an RTC.

"Thanks." Ethan nodded at him, then turned back to Cal. "Sorry Cal, we'll talk later, yeah?" Ethan looked guiltily at his brother.

"Sure." Cal shrugged as he watched Ethan, Charlie and Rita head to the ambulance and quickly bundle the young girl inside.

Finally, they reached the end of their shifts, and both were back in early for a double shift the next day, which would be Ethan's second. Both were weary as they dragged themselves to Ethan's car to head home.

"I never got to catch up with you earlier." Ethan started as they got in the car. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"What?" Cal looked confused.

"When we were outside, you were about to start talking but I had to go."

"Oh, it was nothing. But I wanted to tell you I'd been in touch with Jess, she's at her parents recuperating, but I suggested we could go and see her on our day off if you want to?"

"Oh right, ok." Ethan nodded, somewhat unsure as he started the engine of the car.

"Yeah, I thought we could go out for lunch."

"And she's happy with that?" Ethan asked, casting a sideways glance at Cal, as he drove the car out of the car park and towards their flat.

"Yeah, she sounded really excited actually." Cal smiled to himself as he scrolled through his phone.

…

They soon found themselves back in the car on their way, heading towards Oxford. Ethan had carefully set up his sat nav but had been thwarted by a main route closure on the way into town, and was now somewhat lost having gotten himself flustered. Cal, who had his nose buried in his phone had annoyed Ethan even more by being particularly unhelpful and as Ethan found somewhere to pull over and examine the map feature on his phone and reset his sat nav to get him there avoiding the main road, he was a little prickly with his brother. By the time they parked up and got into the pub, Jess was already sitting and waiting for them. She smiled shyly as they headed towards her and they took their seats at the table.

"I thought you might have changed your minds at the last minute." Jess admitted.

"No, Ethan got lost." Cal grinned.

"I didn't get lost Caleb," Ethan bit back. "The road closure threw me and the sat nav kept trying to take me back to the closure."

"Oh, that has been such a nightmare, Mum was telling me it's caused so many problems." Jess replied, looking at Ethan with sympathy.

"Yeah, well, Ethan got all uptight as usual."

"Well, you could have helped by reading the map!"

"Map reading was always one of your skills, brains." Cal laughed.

"And I thought I always wanted siblings." Jess chuckled, trying to cut through the tension that was building. Ethan shot Cal a look, deciding to give up before their squabble took over. "I'm so glad you decided to come." She sighed, looking from Cal to Ethan.

"Well, how could we not? We're are related after all, though I guess it'll take some time to get to know one another." Ethan smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"So, you got to know our mum a bit then?" Cal asked.

"A little, I mean, I only saw her a handful of times, and I would write to her with details of university, but obviously she couldn't really write back without help."

"But you knew about her longer than we did." Cal pressed.

"I did." Jess nodded. "I guess I feel guilty I didn't appreciate how short the time would be. Maybe I'd have more answers for us if I hadn't gone to Australia."

"What did you do out there?" Ethan asked, changing the subject away from their birth mother. It still hurt him a little and he struggled opening up about it to Cal, never mind to a virtual stranger. Somehow, he still felt disloyal to his mum by accepting Emilie as their mum too.

"Oh, I was working on an apprenticeship, I love to travel, so when this opportunity came up for work, I had to take it." Jess said, blushing slightly.

"What is it that you do?" Ethan asked politely.

"Well, I'm a freelance photographer, but I specialise in creating conceptual pieces, although I span the genres depending on where the work is." Jess said, a flair of passion coming through in her voice.

"Oh, I hadn't really considered there to be genres in photography." Ethan confessed. "Though now you've said it, it's obvious; but I've just always thought of it being portraits or landscapes."

"Ethan, they are page orientations." Cal chuckled. Ethan shot him a look then shared a look of exasperation with Jess, who seemed to be on Ethan's higher wavelength here.

"See what I have to put up with, no manner of intelligent conversation. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Was I?" Jess asked, feeling bad seeing Cal's slightly wounded look, though he recovered quickly.

"About being in Australia."

"Yes, well I got the chance to do some work out there for a company, and it allowed me to build on my portfolio. It was an amazing experience."

"So is that what you did at university?" Cal asked, wanting to prove he could do intelligent conversation.

"Yes, I did Fine Arts at The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford. Then I did an MA in Photography at The Royal College of Art." Jess confessed, feeling the blush creep again. She hoped it didn't sound like she was boasting.

"Wow, that's amazing." Ethan gushed. "I was never very good at art."

"I was always more into art in school than anything, luckily my parents were supportive."

"I was terrible at it; I couldn't see the point. I wanted to be out with my friends, or playing sports." Cal confessed.

"I was more into science." Ethan shrugged too.

"I guess that is a little more evidence to nurture over nature then." Jess smiled. "My parents are both quite arty, so it's always been there for me."

"Yes and our dad was an ED consultant." Ethan said.

"So are you both consultants as well? Wow." Jess said, somewhat impressed.

"No, we are registrars. But we're working towards it." Ethan smiled.

"Still, it's pretty impressive. Much more so than my lame art."

"You've got a masters in something you're passionate about, that's not to be sniffed at." Ethan smiled at her again.

"Thanks Ethan. It's nothing to what you guys do though."

"So you grew up in Oxford then?" Cal asked.

"Yeah. It's my home. Though I like travel too much to stay. I had plans to spend a year travelling America next year." Jess said, smiling. "I guess I should still be able to go." She sighed, looking at her arm.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Ethan tried to reassure her.

Over the course of their lunch, they talked more and were all surprised at how easily conversation flowed as they learned more about each other. As their plates were cleared and they sat with a drink letting their lunch settle, conversation got more serious.

"So then I got the call that Emilie had passed away on the way to the hospice, but that her sons were with her. I was relieved she wasn't alone at the end you know? She was such a lovely woman, and I know she only ever wanted happiness for us."

"Yeah." Cal sighed sadly. "I just wish I could have done more for her."

"Me too Caleb, but I think she would have found peace knowing we were all happy and doing well for ourselves. And knowing that we all knew the truth."

"You can call me Cal, everyone else does." Cal told Jess.

"Oh, sorry." She smiled. "Is Caleb too formal?"

"It makes me feel like I'm in trouble."

"Me too!" She laughed. "Jessica I mean." She shuddered at the use of her full name. "Whenever anyone says it I think of my Dad bellowing at me in my early teen years. Or my Gramps sitting at the dinner table and saying: 'So Jessica, what are you going to do with your life?' Bless him."

"I still get called Caleb by Ethan when I'm annoying him. Still I've got a better name for him, haven't I Nibbles?" Cal smirked.

"Yeah, alright. We don't need to go there right now." Ethan blushed.

"Nibbles?" Jess looked confused.

"Well, when we were-" Cal started.

"Not now Caleb." Ethan hissed through gritted teeth. Cal smirked and winked at Jess.

"Another time." He chuckled, and Jess smiled back at him. She quite liked the dynamic between the duo she thought, and decided that between them, they would have made perfect brothers growing up. It was a shame she hadn't known them, she thought to herself.

"Well, anyway, I know she would have been pleased to have you both at her side at the end." Jess smiled sadly.

"I'm sure she would have loved you to be there too." Cal said.

"Well, it wasn't to be." Jess shrugged sadly, tears pricking her eyes. Silence fell on them for a moment as they each reflected on the ending and what had been left for them. Jess desperately wanted to delve more into what they knew but she couldn't ask, not now.

As they left the pub, Cal and Ethan heading back towards the car and Jess ready to bid them farewell, things got a little more awkward again.

"Thank you for coming up to see me. I really appreciate you taking the time to get to know me, this could have gone so horribly wrong." Jess confessed.

"It's been a pleasure." Ethan smiled, shrugging slightly, not sure what else to say.

"Perhaps we could meet up again some time, keep things going now we know you exist?" Cal said.

"I would love to." Jess smiled at him.

"Great." Cal smiled as they said their goodbyes and headed off, Jess insisting she didn't need a lift. She watched the boys drive off and wondered what their conversation might entail on the way home. She walked towards the bus stop and as she waited she opened her phone's internet browser, and up popped the last page she had been browsing, information on Huntington's disease and genetic testing for it. Tears pricked her eyes and she shut down the page again, hoping her bus would soon arrive.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a few days until Cal next heard from Jess, and the first few texts between them were still loitering on the awkward 'how are you' side of things. Cal was sitting outside of the ED, taking some time in a rare moment of calm, glancing down at his phone when Charlie appeared next to him.

"She keeping you waiting?" Charlie said, sitting down with a smile.

"What?" Cal looked up confused. "Oh, right, no." He smiled, realising what Charlie meant. Then a further realisation hit him. "Are you back?" He asked the older nurse.

"No. I've had to come in to speak to the powers that be." Charlie sighed.

"This is so ridiculous Charlie. Surely they can see-"

"Don't worry Cal, it will sort itself out. We don't need to drag it up."

"But, well they're stupid if they can't see."

"Thanks Cal." Charlie smiled, stopping him again. "So, why are you staring at your phone like it contains all of the answers to life's problems?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Cal said, then looking up at Charlie's earnest face, he took a deep breath, trying to decide whether to divulge more information to the man who had been more like a father figure to him than anyone. Someone he considered a friend. "I've met someone Charlie." Cal blurted out suddenly, and Charlie broke into a grin, assuming the obvious.

"I see. Special is she?" He smiled.

"No. No it's not like that." Cal started, realising his obvious mistake. "It turns out, well, Ethan and I, we have a half-sister." Cal paused in dramatic fashion, waiting for the information to hit Charlie.

"Right." Charlie said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Well, that is a surprise."

"Tell me about it." Cal half laughed. "As if we hadn't had enough we find out we've got a younger sister." A moment of silence fell between them as Charlie considered what Cal might be thinking.

"So have you met her?"

"Yes, we both went up to meet her the other day." Cal admitted.

"And?"

"It went well, she seems like a nice girl, different to us, but similar too. It's strange."

"I can imagine it is. You've both had a lot to deal with over the past 9 months."

"The thing is Charlie, we hardly know her, but I don't know, I get the feeling she's trying to tell me something?" Cal said suddenly, blurting out what was really confusing him.

"How so?" Charlie asked carefully.

"I don't know. I know it's stupid, but it's just like I've got this sense, a feeling there's more to this that first thought. I mean, she's known about us for a couple of years, why only make contact now?" Cal asked. Charlie considered this for a moment before responding.

"Well, perhaps she was concerned that you didn't know about the adoption, and rightly so."

"I suppose." Cal mumbled, considering this very valid point as Charlie continued to explain.

"Can you imagine if 2 years ago she'd have appeared out of the blue claiming to be your sister, you and Ethan had only just lost your mum. How would you have felt finding out like that. It was bad enough finding out in the way you did. Can you imagine how much worse this would have been?" Charlie said wisely.

"You're right Charlie, of course you are. But still, when I read her messages, it feels like she'd reaching out to me, but I don't know what she wants. She's an intelligent, independent girl, but there's this niggling feeling, a doubt cast in my mind."

"Like a big brother intuition?" Charlie asked lightly, smiling slightly.

"I guess. I know it sounds silly, I can hear myself Charlie." Cal looked slightly embarrassed.

"Maybe you should meet with her again? I would certainly say build on your relationship. Does she have siblings?"

"No, she's an only child."

"Even more reason to not jump in with both feet being the big brother she never had. Perhaps deep down she's curious knowing she had these two brothers out there, and for the past couple of years has wondered what you're like and what life might have been like if you all grew up together. But it's a strange upheaval for you all. Even though she has known about you for some time, meeting you both is very different. There will be lots of unanswered questions on both sides, which one meeting cannot resolve."

"I know you're right Charlie. Am I stupid to think she's reaching out to me?"

"Not stupid, but maybe you are hoping to make up for the years of missed relationship, or perhaps in some way, where you see you have failed your brother at times, you don't want to do that to her."

"How do you do it Charlie?" Cal looked up at him.

"Do what?"

"Read people so well?"

"It's a gift." Charlie chuckled, jokingly. "No seriously, life experiences, especially in this place, have taught me a lot."

"You're a good friend Charlie, thanks." Cal smiled. Charlie nodded and patted Cal's shoulder as he stood up to walk inside.

"Remember, take your time, there's no rush to be everything to each other straight away." Charlie disappeared, leaving Cal with his thoughts once more. Cal was still clutching his phone a few minutes later when another voice broke his thoughts.

"Any chance of getting you inside to actually do some work today Dr Knight?" Connie called from the doorway where she had just stepped outside to take an ambulance handover. "In fact, you can take over here, incoming trauma, 16-year-old boy, fallen from a height of approximately 8 feet; he fell backwards off a wall. Possible spinal injury, multiple fractures, must have been a bad landing." Connie said as she turned and walked back inside. Cal shook his head as she walked off and turned his attention to the incoming ambulance screeching to a halt in front of him.

"Cal mate, are you taking this?" Iain said, jumping out of the cab.

"Pre-alerted Trauma, 16-year-old, fall from wall?" Cal asked.

"That's the one." Iain said, opening the rear doors of the ambulance and helping Jez down with the patient on the trolley.

"What have we got?" Cal asked as they headed straight into Resus.

"Right, this is Ryan, 16-year-old male, fell from approximately 8 feet backwards off a wall onto concrete. Open head wound, possible spinal injury so we have immobilised, possible fractured ribs, breath sounds were equal but breathing deteriorating on route, pelvic binder applied in case of pelvic injury, probable closed fracture of right tib and/or fib. GCS 13, BP 90/55, Pulse 135, Resps 26, rapid and shallow, Temp 36.6, Sats 94%. Given 10mg IV morphine, on 4l o2 via non-rebreathe mask and given 500ml saline on route to try to hold BP." Iain informed Cal and the rest of the trauma team who had gathered and were transferring the boy to the resus trolley and busily beginning their own assessments. "No, known significant medical history, and no know allergies, next of kin not yet informed." Iain finished.

"Thanks Iain." Cal called as he and Jez left the room. "Ryan, I'm Cal, I'm a doctor and I'll be looking after you. We'll get you some more pain relief but we just need to assess you ok?" Cal tried to reassure the boy. "Right, you know the drill guys, let's get bloods off asap, FBC, U&E, LFT, Coag, Crossmatch for 4 units." Cal started as he reassessed Ryan and the team busied themselves stabilising him. He was busy doing a FAST scan on Ryan's abdomen when Rita came in to Resus.

"Cal, Ethan has an urgent message for you when you get a minute."

"I'm a bit tied up at the minute Rita, did he say what it was about."

"No, just that he needed to speak to you when you're done in here." Rita said, heading back out. Cal shook his head, his eyes glued to the small scanner monitor. He couldn't get a clear enough picture, he wanted Ryan in the scanner for a full trauma scan. He was trying to remain focussed on his patient, but Rita's words were ringing around in his head. Ethan had an urgent message and wanted to speak to him, he wondered what he could be. It wasn't like him to send messages into Resus via the nursing staff. What could it be?

"Right, I need to get you into the CT scanner Ryan, ok? How's your breathing?" Cal asked the boy, who just tried to nod and grunted behind his oxygen mask. As Cal watch him being wheeled off he hurried off to find Ethan, worried about what was so urgent.

"Ethan!" He called as he saw his brother diving towards a cubicle. "Ethan, Rita said you needed me?" Cal asked before he disappeared.

"Oh, right, yes…hang on a minute." Ethan said, disappearing behind the curtain. Cal stopped and folded his arms across his chest while he waited for Ethan, growing more impatient as the minutes passed. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and realised he had a message from Jess, but just as he went to open it, Jacob called him urgently. Cal's head instantly shot up and he shoved his phone back in his pocket.

"Cal, we need you now!" Jacob called.

"What is it?" Cal said, rushing over.

"Ryan, his breathing has gone off. He got really breathless in the scanner and became even more tachy."

"Right, let's reassess." Cal ordered, heading through the doors of Resus. "Ryan, what's happened?" Cal asked leaning over the boy and listening to his chest. Ryan breathlessly tried to talk but couldn't get his words out. "Right, I think we've got a possible haemothorax. Absent breath sounds on the right. Let's get an urgent portable chest film. Where's that cross-matched blood Robyn?"

"Not ready yet. Shall we get some emergency O Neg?"

"Yes, lets infuse 2 units, I'm likely going to have to put drain in." Cal instructed and Robyn went out for the blood and the portable X-ray machine was moved in. When Robyn returned with the blood, Cal asked her to set up ready to insert a drain. As she was helping Cal tie his gown, his mind was wondering, thinking about what Jess' message might have said, maybe something had happened and she needed to get in touch, maybe that's what Ethan had needed to speak to him about. But what could it be? What could have happened? He couldn't check now, he was in his sterile gloves and couldn't go rummaging in his pocket. He tried his hardest to put all of his focus onto Ryan and the chest drain, but he did struggle, he felt like his phone was burning in his pocket and by the time the procedure was complete and the X-ray images checked and Ryan was more comfortable, Cal had run through just about every possibility in his mind of what Ethan might want and what Jess might have said.

When he finally got out of Resus and was heading towards the admin desk, he slipped his phone out of his pocket eagerly, opening Jess' message.

 _'I feel a bit strange asking this, but I'm having an exhibition of my most recent collection at a private gallery next week, I just wondered if you and Ethan might be interested in seeing my work? You don't have to, I understand it's not to everyone's taste, but in case you're interested I can put you on the guest list. Let me know.'_

Cal almost breathed a sigh of relief, there was nothing wrong, she just wanted to invite them to a gallery. Cal thought about it; sure it wasn't his normal fun evening, but he was sure Ethan would love it, and he was interested in seeing Jess' work, and more so seeing Jess again. Cal put his phone back in his pocket and sat at the computer to look up Ryan's blood results.

"Cal, there you are." Ethan said as he walked past. Cal's head shot up guiltily.

"What?" He asked his brother.

"Cal, I need you to pick up some things from the shop on the way home." Ethan said.

"What? Why?" Cal looked half annoyed.

"Well because I'm on a late shift, and unless you want to use newspaper to wipe your _you know what_ with then I suggest you follow my list." He said handing the paper over to Cal, who half snatched it away as he let out a laboured sigh. As Ethan walked away Cal muttered to himself: 'I could always wipe it on your research papers.' Then smiled to himself again as he continued his work on the computer.


	10. Chapter 10

Ethan had just parked the car at a nearby carpark and now he and Cal were making their way to the gallery.

"I'm sure Jess said it was near here." Ethan said, looking at the map feature on his phone. "Yes, just down the road here." He finished, striding off again. Cal rolled his eyes and sighed and followed him.

"So, are you planning on pulling the gallery owner tonight?" Cal smirked as they walked down the street.

"What?" Ethan looked at him confused.

"Well, what's with the suit?"

"What's wrong with it?" Ethan's brow furrowed.

"You're going to look like Jess' Dad, not her brother."

"Shut-up." Ethan said, looking cross. "I didn't want to let her down, tonight is important to her."

"Yes, but it's in a trendy gallery, not some stuffy museum." Cal chuckled to himself.

"As if you'd know what a museum looked like." Ethan hit back; Cal's comments always managed to knock his confidence, and he needed a counter attack.

"You're right, that's more your type of place to hang out. At least you didn't put a tie on I suppose."

"Leave it Cal." Ethan finished, as they entered the gallery. They spied Jess across the room talking to a woman and two men; she smiled at Cal and Ethan over the groups shoulders and excused herself, making her way over towards they boys.

"Hey you two." She smiled. "Thanks for coming."

"Our pleasure." Ethan smiled. "Thanks for inviting us. I'm intrigued to see what you do."

"So is all of this here tonight yours?" Cal asked.

"Three sections are mine, and then there are a couple of other artists displaying too. They are good, I feel a bit like an amateur compared to them." Jess admitted.

"I'm sure you're not." Ethan said quickly, trying to reassure her. "So is there a theme to your pieces?"

"Ha! Some has been reading up on art." Cal laughed, making Jess chuckle too.

"That's a good question Ethan." Jess replied, recovering quickly and feeling guilty. "It's all explained in the brief in here." She said, handing him a glossy brochure.

"Wow, they must have a lot of faith in you if they are putting all this in." Ethan breathed, looking at the brochure. Cal looked at her and rolled his eyes. A waiter walked past and offered them all a glass of sparkling wine, and Cal took one and handed one to Jess. Ethan still had his nose in the brochure.

"So, how have you been?" Cal asked Jess.

"I'm ok." Jess nodded, smiling. "Seen the physio and I've been doing the exercises. The strength is slowly coming back." She said, indicating her arm. Cal nodded politely and smiled. "I'm lucky, I can still do most of my job with the injury."

"That's good. And are your parents here tonight?" Cal said, looking around for a couple who might be Jess' Mum and Dad.

"No, it's their wedding anniversary, they are away celebrating." Jess smiled. "It's ok, it's not my first display, and I hope it won't be my last."

"I'm sure it won't be." Cal smiled, feeling strangely proud. "I can't wait to see it."

"Go on, wonder through, my pieces are in the room on the right." She smiled, a sense of shyness creeping over her. "I'd better go and 'network', I need to seize the opportunity." She rolled her eyes. "I'll catch up with you both in a bit, ok?" She finished as she headed off.

Cal and Ethan wondered through to the room where Jess' work was being displayed, and both were immediately blown away. Somehow the pictures instantly captured them, even though their experience of art was limited, they seemed to get drawn right in, and Ethan explained to Cal what he had read in the brochure and how it brought the work to life. Cal just stared, amazed at her talent, and how such emotions could be brought out in artwork.

A while later, Ethan was stood in front of his favourite piece again, Cal was talking to a young woman who worked in the gallery on the other side of the room, but Ethan couldn't tear himself away from this particular picture. He stood staring, realising it was bringing out all sorts of his own feelings and emotions. Suddenly Jess appeared beside him again.

"This was in a darker period of my life a few months back. Not long after I found out about Emilie passing away."

"I love it, I'm not good at art interpretation but this stirs up so many emotions in me." Ethan breathed, still staring at the picture.

"It's not just about what the artist is trying to say; part of art interpretation is personal, it's what the piece means to you." Jess said knowledgeably.

"Well, this speaks to me." Ethan said, glancing across at Jess.

"Tell me about it? What does it say?" Jess urged.

"Oh, I don't know, I'd probably get it so wrong." Ethan looked embarrassed.

"There is no right and wrong Ethan. Please, tell me what it makes you feel." Jess said. Ethan looked back towards the picture.

"Ok, well it kind of has a dark despair about it, but in amongst that there's a glimmer of hope that comes through, but it also manages to convey a feeling of fragility. Like an internal suffering. A mix of emotions." Ethan said, then stopping himself he looked at her. "Does that sound stupid?"

"No. No it doesn't." Jess breathed, looking at him with tears shining in her eyes. "It's perfect. Ethan it's like you've just stripped a layer off of me and read right into my soul." Jess said softly.

"Well, it's an incredible piece. But I hate to think what you were going through to make you feel this." Ethan said honestly. They held eye contact for a moment, tears still glistening over her eyes, and for a moment she looked like she was going to speak. But as Jess blinked away her tears, Cal came back over.

"It all looks far too serious over here." He said.

"Yes, um, Ethan has just been telling me what he thought of my work." Jess said, clearing the lump from her throat.

"Oh, you fancy yourself as an art critic now then Nibbles?" Cal laughed. "Seriously though Jess, it is great, you are very talented."

"Thank you Cal." Jess smiled. She was called away again by her boss and Ethan was left wondering what had inspired this work, as he knew his interpretation had come from his experiences and feelings over the past few months. He wondered now what Jess had been going through, and all alone too. Maybe she had been tested, maybe she had inherited the gene too? Was this piece of work a product of the same confusion, anger and desperation that Ethan had felt. The despair that had come from that fateful letter.

"Ethan, did you hear me?" Cal said as Ethan suddenly came back to the room.

"Sorry, no?" Ethan said, looking sheepish.

"I said we should go and find a seat, they are giving a presentation with the artists in a minute, I'm assuming you want to stay for it?"

"Oh right, yes." Ethan nodded, bringing himself firmly back to the present.

"You ok Ethan?" Cal looked at him, concerned.

"I'm fine. Just blown away by the art." Ethan said, shrugging off his concern as they went to the main gallery to take a seat.


End file.
